Sacrilege case: Dera chief moves HC seeking bail in case of arrest

Saurabh Malik

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 27

Just about two days after a Faridkot Court issued production warrants of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a sacrilege case, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking bail in case of his arrest.

He is currently lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail following his conviction in another case.

In his plea listed for hearing on Thursday, the dera chief through senior counsel Vinod Ghai and advocate Kanika Ahuja has sought directions to the arresting officer to release him on bail forthwith in event of his arrest in connection with the FIR No. 63, registered on June 2, 2015, under Sections 380 and 295-A of IPC at Bajakhana police station in Faridkot district.

Among other things, the dera chief argued that the special investigating team looking into the matter moved an application for his production warrants, “now with the change in the head of the state government”. This, he argued, was done belatedly after more than one year and four months.

“This application is not only illegal but politically motivated and apparently seems to have been moved keeping in view the coming assembly election in the state of Punjab. There is no change in the circumstances and also no further evidence has apparently come forth before the Investigating Agency to change its stand and move the application now. This fact in itself is sufficient to show the biased and vindictive attitude of the investigating agency towards me,” Dera Chief has submitted in his plea.

Referring to Section 267 of the CrPC, the dera chief added a warrant for producing a prisoner could only be issued for the limited purposes of answering a charge or giving evidence. It could not be issued for handing the prisoner’s custody to the investigating agency in the aid of an ongoing investigation.